Position: LHP
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170 lbs
Bats/Throws: L/L
Born: 01/06/2001
Country: Dominican Republic
How Acquired: International Free Agent, 2017
Bonus: $110,000
40-Man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Yes
Minor League Free Agency: 2024
Options Left: 3
Overview
Peralta is a small lefty who got a bonus just into six figures at age 16. He throws harder than you’d expect for his size, with his fastball averaging around 93 mph and getting into the mid-90s. He adds a curve and change, and has the ability to miss a lot of bats, but doesn’t always throw enough strikes.
2018-21
Peralta spent 2018-19 in the DSL, both times alternating between starting and relieving. In 2018, his numbers weren’t good apart from a K/9 of 11.6. He made a lot of progress his second season, cutting his ERA from 5.63 to 2.01. A lot of the difference came from him throwing more strikes, although his K rate dropped sharply. Peralta didn’t pitch in 2020.
In 2021, the Pirates moved Peralta up to the FCL, where he was mostly a starter with one of the Pirates’ two FCL teams. He put up a 3.41 ERA and 11.2 K/9, but did have some control issues, with a 5.6 BB/9. Because of the odd scheduling in the FCL, he faced the other Pirates’ FCL entry in all but one of his outings, which could have skewed the results.
2022-23
Pitching in the Bradenton rotation in 2022, Peralta had a frustrating season. He showed extreme swing-and-miss ability, with a 14.5 K/9, but control problems did him in. Apart from the 6.6 BB/9, he’d get behind in the count and then get hit hard when he tried just to get pitches over the plate. High-pitch-count innings were another problem. The Pirates still kept him in the rotation all year, except for the month of June, when they moved him to the development list.
In 2023, Peralta missed a couple weeks in April, but otherwise pitched as a starter and in long relief for Bradenton again. He made only a little progress with the control problems.
Stats
Transactions
July 3, 2017: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.